“You must have been sadly tried if you were willing to do a thing like that,” he said, with infinite pity in his voice. “You poor child!”
It was her turn then to be astonished, but she was swifter of comprehension.
“Do you mean to say that you still want to marry me,” she asked, looking him full in the face, “even after I have insulted you?”
“Yes,” he answered. “I want to marry you—and more than ever now, so that you may never again be exposed to a temptation like this.”
“But now I refuse to marry you,” she returned, forcibly, as she withdrew her hand. “I say ‘no’ now—without hesitation this time.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because it isn’t fair now,” she responded.
“Fair?” he repeated, puzzled.
“I couldn’t do it now; it would be too mean for anything,” she explained. “As long as I supposed you thought I was rich and were going to marry me for my money, I didn’t mind cheating you. I could let you marry me even if I didn’t love you, and it would only be serving you right. But now!—now I couldn’t! It wouldn’t be fair to you. I am pretty mean, I confess, but I’m not mean enough for that, I hope.”
Again he took a moment to think before he spoke.